Telstra announces Cleaner Pipes initiative to further reduce instances of customer data being compromised through malware, ransomware, and phishing. According to the announcement, it involves significantly upscaling Domain Name System (DNS) filtering, where millions of malware communications are being proactively and automatically blocked every week as they try to cross the company’s infrastructure. Telstra has been trialing this initiative for twelve months, including blocking the command and control communications of botnets and malware and stopping the downloading of remote access trojans, backdoors, and banking trojans.
Block cyber threats
Telstra also admits that is will not completely eliminate the risk, or substitute appropriate threat protection, but it will contribute to significantly reducing the volumes and impact. Cleaner Pipes also complements other ongoing projects dedicated to reducing malicious SMS and scam calls. Andrew Penn, CEO of Telstra said,
“I have often said that in the near future the confluence of digital technologies and connectivity would mean everything that could be connected would be connected. COVID-19 is driving a sudden acceleration of that idea and the reality of a connected world (be it tele-health or online education, working from home or online dinner parties) is with us now and part of everyday life for millions of Australians. But if COVID-19 is forcing the pace and scale of innovation it is also underscoring the critical importance of cyber-security.”